Together with East Sussex County Council, the council has let a 30 year integrated waste management contract worth about £1 billion which has facilitated the development of a network of modern facilities to manage waste collected by the local authorities more sustainably.
In 2012/13 just 6% of waste was sent to landfill for disposal, down from 42% in 2009/10.
The amount of residual waste (not recycled or composted) per household has declined from 629kg per household in 2009/10 to 591kg per household in 2012/13.
About 26% of household waste was recycled or composted in 2012/13, a slight decline from previous years. This is believed to be due to a number of factors including the economic downturn and changes in consumer behaviour (e.g. fewer newspapers and magazines being bought).
98% of properties have a recycling service, either a kerbside collection or communal recycling bins for blocks of flats.
In East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, construction and demolition waste accounts for over half of all waste produced.
Following a consultation on communal bins this service now covers properties in central parts of the city. This has resulted in cleaner streets and increased levels of satisfaction with the service.
The recycling and composting rate needs to be maximised in an environmentally and financially sustainable way, in particular maximising materials captured through existing services.
Residents need to feel recycling and refuse collections are reliable.